Indian medium-pacer Mohit Sharma is on cloud nine after being roped in by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2019 auction in Jaipur on December 18. Mohit, who entered into the auction with a moderate base price of 50 lakh, was bought by CSK for a whopping sum of 5 crore.
In an exclusive interview with TOI, Sharma revealed how he got to know about his successful bid at the auction.
“I have been in the rehab camp. And I did not even watch the auction. It was only after I started getting the phone calls that I realized I was sold. My first reaction was, ‘Gaya kis team mein hoon?’, because I knew nothing about what was happening. They told me Chennai has picked me and frankly, that was bigger than the money for me,” he quoted.
This will be Mohit’s second stint with the Chennai team, with whom he made his IPL debut in 2013. He played with the team till 2015, when the side was banned for two seasons, after which he was fetched by Kings XI Punjab.
Delighted with the prospect of donning the yellow jersey again, the 30-year-old seamer said: “It feels great to be back. A lot has changed. Now, the dressing room has so many big names. Earlier, we had Mahi bhai (Dhoni), (Suresh) Raina bhai, (Dwayne) Bravo, but now, look at any name and it’s a big player. So, it will be great sharing a dressing room with all of them.”
Mohit also seemed excited to play under the leadership of legendary MS Dhoni and opened up about his rapport with the team management.
“No doubt, it feels nice coming back to familiar settings. And you ask any cricketer which captain he wants to play under, the number one name on his list will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has developed a culture with the team, the staff, that makes it easy to perform. The crowd backs you too, and you find yourself adjusting very easily in that setup,” he remarked.
The Haryana pacer, who has represented India in 26 ODIs and 8 T20Is, is not hurrying to return to the national setup. Mohit has last played for India back in October 2015.
“I never burden myself with a lot of expectations. They create pressure. I have just recovered from injury and I’m training to be fully fit. I feel 99% fit now and I have Ranji Trophy matches ahead of me to prove my form and fitness for Haryana and then the IPL," he concluded.
(With TOI inputs)
